DOCSLIB.ORG

Art As a Weapon¨

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Art As a Weapon¨ Akhavan Note (Do Not Delete) 2/22/20 4:47 PM ART AS A WEAPON¨ INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 153 I. BACKGROUND ................................................................................... 156 A. Degenerate Art, Aryanization, and Government-Organized Theft .................................................................................... 156 B. Restitution Efforts ............................................................... 159 C. History Repeats Itself: ISIS-Looted Cultural Property ...... 160 D. Legal Background .............................................................. 162 1. CategorIes of Property; Obtaining Good Title .............. 162 2. Adverse Possession, Statute of Limitations, and Laches ................................................................................ 165 3. The Law Governing Cultural Property ......................... 169 4. Legal Developments In Holocaust-Era Art Claims ...... 172 II. RAMIFICATIONS OF LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS ..................................... 174 A. Implications of the HEAR Act ............................................ 174 B. Lessons to be Learned? ...................................................... 175 III. PROPOSAL FOR PROACTIVE REFORM ............................................... 177 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 181 INTRODUCTION Imagine being content in your career, enjoying your financial freedom, and being able to pursue your love for the fine arts With your hard-earned wealth. You begin collecting pieces of considerable value— sculptures, jewelry, paintings—and grow your private collection with works from renowned and obscure artists alike. This is your life dream, as the child of art aficionados, and this is precisely what you have worked so hard your entire life for. One morning, you open a letter from the attorney of an individual claiming to be the descendant of the rightful owner of one of your most prized paintings. He demands for its return on the grounds that it was stolen from his family during the Holocaust. Naturally, you have an attachment to this piece (especially after paying such a large sum for it, which you Were Willing to fork over because of the subject’s resemblance ¨ PermIssIon Is hereby Granted for noncommercIal reproductIon of thIs Note In Whole or In part for educatIon or research purposes, IncludInG the makInG of multIple copIes for classroom use, subject only to the conditIon that the name of the author, a complete citatIon, and thIs copyrIGht notIce and grant of permIssIon be Included In all copies. 153 Akhavan Note (Do Not Delete) 2/22/20 4:47 PM 154 CARDOZO ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT [Vol. 38:1 to your Wife) but now question Whether or not you even have good title, despite purchasing it from a reputable Manhattan gallery. Moreover, you are mortified by the thought of the potentially violent history behind the gorgeous piece hung in the living room where you watch old film noirs every Saturday night with your wife and cat, war being the last thing on anyone’s mind. The thought of someone else loving the painting just as much as you, only to have it stolen in such a horrific way, fills you with sadness and guilt. You also Wonder if it is even possible for this person, generations removed from the original owner, to claim superior ownership rights to your painting over seventy years after the War has ended. The legality of your own actions and those of the gallery creep into your mind, even though you had no idea that you Were purchasing a potentially stolen painting, and the gallery surely would not have sold you something like that. Whose fault is it really? What do you do now? Contrast this point of view to that of the grandson of a Holocaust victim—a victim who happened to be quite a lover of the arts himself. You lost many of your ancestors, most tangible memories of your family from that era, and virtually all hope of ever having the opportunity to see your grandfather’s beloved art collection—all to World War II atrocities. That Is, untIl one day, as you sIp your morning cold brew before going about your life as usual, you stumble upon an article on a very expensive painting sold at the gallery across town. You immediately recognize the image pictured as one of the paintings your family spoke of When reminiscing about your grandfather’s lost art collection. Your heart drops and the anger sets in, knowing that the painting rightfully belongs in your family, and that it is one of the last tangible links to the grandfather you always wished you had known. Should you say something to the purchaser? If so, should you retain counsel first? Can you even afford a lawyer? Is it possible that you still have property rights to the painting after all this time? There certainly have been others in your situation, and some have actually succeeded in having their art returned. You believe that, despite the complications, it is still worth a shot, at least for the sake of honoring your grandfather’s memory and what you assume he would have wanted if he were here now. These starkly contrastIng scenarIos demonstrate the complex interests at stake in claims for the restitution of stolen art, only further complicated by the sensitive context in which these issues arise. The precise extent of the damage done to families, property, and culture as a whole because of unfathomable Holocaust atrocities Will likely never be known. Lingering effects of this systematic wartime plunder have been felt by victims, their families, and art-lovers alike across borders. Be it cultural or pecuniary grievances, the looting of art under Adolf Hitler’s oppressive regime has had complicated legal ramifications stretching Akhavan Note (Do Not Delete) 2/22/20 4:47 PM 2020] ART AS A WEAPON 155 well Into the present, though most Holocaust survivors have now passed. QuestIons frequently arIse regarding how the law, morality, and ethics interact on this topic, and Whether they should be far more intertwined than they are presently. Why exactly Is It so dIffIcult to sImply return stolen, beloved property to genocide victims? It would seem like common sense. At least, one ought to consider ways to somehow make amends to a group who has been made to suffer in such a notoriously heinous fashion. However, considering the interests of parties involved in these transactions—such as good faith purchasers and beneficiaries (perhaps completely unaware of their possession of viciously stolen property)—can shed a much different light on that question. Unfortunately, the law is not always centered around morality, whether or not it should be in the face of war, genocide, stolen property, and priceless artifacts. This fact, along with legal principles that militate issues such as the passage of time, duties of involved parties, and loss of evidence, has shaped the Way victims have been made to suffer the residual effects of the Holocaust long after the end of World War II. This Note analyzes how property rIghts can shift during wartime, in addition to examining the question of whether or not they should. Part I examines the historical background underlying government-organized art theft and the looting and destruction of cultural property, including contributing ideological factors, how restitution efforts have developed over time, and the legal landscape governing the outcomes of proceedings involving stolen art and antiquities. Part II analyzes the ramifications of these legal developments, particularly how the law has affected victims’ property rights and answered to the lingering effects of the Holocaust. Further, Part II compares the laws addressing Holocaust-era art claims to treaties governing the ongoing crisis of ISIS-looted cultural property. Part III proposes five reform factors for the newly-implemented HEAR Act to take into consideration in order to allow victims the broadest opportunity to seek restitution: (1) the shifting of the due diligence analysis onto the current possessor of afflicted art, (2) the complete removal of the Act’s federal statute of limitations, (3) alternatively, the substitution of a more favorable demand and refusal rule, (4) providing attorneys’ fees for claimants, and (5) the removal of the Act’s sunset provision. AdditIonally, this Note advocates for the similar removal of the 1995 UNIDROIT ConventIon’s three-year statute of limitations and fifty-year WIndow from the tIme of the theft for cultural property restitution claims, or alternatively, the substitution of a demand and refusal rule. These fair improvements Would allow for a far more lenient legal landscape that incorporates more robust ethical and moral considerations, Which appear to have been long neglected When victims (the individual, the institution, Akhavan Note (Do Not Delete) 2/22/20 4:47 PM 156 CARDOZO ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT [Vol. 38:1 or the state) of War and conflict are involved. All things considered, a final overarching question remains as to Whether, in this context, the law and its largely symbolic developments have only succeeded in sweeping the past and the lessons to be learned from it under the rug—all the while adding insult to injury. I. BACKGROUND Hitler’s endeavor to destroy an entire culture is critical context for the ancillary legal disputes. Art, regardless of the medium, not only showcases the inner lives of those Who share it With society, but ultimately chronicles human achievement. It undoubtedly can be controversial,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Guarding the Historical Record from the Nazi-Era Art Litigation Tumbling Toward the Supreme Court
    ESSAY GUARDING THE HISTORICAL RECORD FROM THE NAZI-ERA ART LITIGATION TUMBLING TOWARD THE SUPREME COURT † JENNIFER ANGLIM KREDER When the modern wave of claims against museums to recover paintings “displaced” during the Nazi era began, I, as an academic, approached the claims cautiously because I assumed that our es- teemed institutions would not have knowingly profited from the spoli- ation of property belonging to millions of persecuted refugees. I was wrong. I have come to understand, based on objective, historically sound records, that a significant number of our museums during and in the aftermath of the Holocaust actively acquired art that they knew or should have recognized likely came from Jewish homes and busi- nesses. These museums acquired this exquisite art despite widespread knowledge of Nazi looting and governmental warnings about the in- fection of the art market.1 Now, museums are using American courts to shut down inquiries into such art’s history by blocking claims on technical grounds,2 contrary to their own ethics guidelines3 and U.S. executive policy.4 † Jennifer Anglim Kreder is a Professor of Law at the Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University. She has been involved in Holocaust-era and art litigation since 1999 and currently serves as Co-Chair of the American Society of Inter- national Law Interest Group on Cultural Heritage and the Arts. 1 See Raymond J. Dowd, Federal Courts and Stolen Art: Our Duty to History, FED. LAW., July 2008, at 4, 4-6 (discussing a 1950 U.S. State Department bulletin on re- ports of stolen art).
    [Show full text]
  • Eisenhower, Hitler, and the Monuments
    The Monuments Men Education Website http://www.monumentsmeneducation.com/ Eisenhower, Hitler, & the Monuments Men Document-Based Learning for the Classroom In a war, commanders must balance their directives, the realities on the ground, and the needs of their men in the face of resistance by the enemy. During World War II, the cultural treasures of Europe were under threat as Adolf Hitler wanted to strip the cultural heritage of his enemies away to weaken their spirit. He directed his forces to confiscate Europe’s greatest works of art for the benefit of the Nazi Party. Trying to simultaneously liberate and protect Europe, the Allies, under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, sought to safeguard Europe’s art and culture within the realities of war. The Monuments Men formed as a special unit with the objective to save as much of Europe’s material culture from Nazi destruction as possible. In this lesson, students will use primary sources to compare the objectives of each side and reflect on the significance of a society’s cultural heritage. OBJECTIVE: By reading documents from General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adolf Hitler, students will be able to describe the significance of art and cultural symbols to a society and be able to differentiate the points of view of each leader as to the treatment of art and culture. GRADE LEVEL: 7-12 COMMON CORE STANDARDS: ELA Anchor Standards for Reading: CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
    [Show full text]
  • Art Tours for Book Lovers: Enliven Your Book Club with Docent Led Discussions
    Art Tours for Book Lovers: Enliven Your Book Club with Docent Led Discussions The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel 2014-2015 Utah Museum of Fine Arts Tours for Book Lovers Selection ABOUT THE BOOK “At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the Western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: ‘degenerate’ works he despised. In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.” From product description. BOOK DISCUSSION GUIDE Use the information and discussion guide on the following pages to facilitate your book club’s conversation about this book. Then visit us at www.umfa.utah.edu/arttoursforbooklovers to schedule a group tour. 1. Robert Edsel calls the Monuments Men “The Heroes of Civilization.” What do you think he means by that? Discuss the original group of eleven men recruited to salvage Europe’s artwork. What were the men's individual qualifications, both personal and professional, that made them the right people for the job? 2. Why was the service of George Stout and James Rorimer so invaluable to the mission? Who else stood out among the Monuments Men? 3. Robert Edsel has said, “Rose Valland is my candidate for the greatest heroine of WWII.” Do you agree? Why was she willing to risk her life to protect the art? 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Spooky Times in Maysville
    Spooky Times in Maysville, KY Yes, the town is located in MASON county. Maysville native George Clooney is known to come from a well-connected Hollywood family. It’s also admitted in the mainstream press that George is related to Abraham Lincoln. What got me going on this paper, though, is George’s great-great grandfather Andrew Clooney, who was born in Maysville in 1874 and died on Halloween in 1947. That’s a particularly spooky set of dates. Looking more into Andrew Clooney, we find he married Crescentia Koch , who was also born in 1874. Crescentia’s father was an eyewitness to the Lincoln assassination, which Miles has previously exposed as a spook event. Andrew Clooney was mayor of Maysville over multiple terms. With a modern-day population of 9,000, you wouldn’t think “Mayor of Maysville” meant all that much back in the 30s, though Mayor Clooney apparently met with FDR in 1933 to discuss local flooding issues. The Clooneys often talk about Maysville and George premiered one of his movies in this little town on the banks of the Ohio River (see photo to the right). I found this interesting, as Maysville doesn’t seem impressive at first glance. But let’s take a deeper look. Daniel Boone, whom Miles has written about before, is one of Maysville’s founders. Next we learn George’s aunt Rosemary Clooney was a huge Hollywood star, and grew up in Maysville’s spooky John Brett Richeson House, located at 331 W. 3rd St. Already, we’ve found a lot of numerology in this little town.
    [Show full text]
  • Division, Records of the Cultural Affairs Branch, 1946–1949 108 10.1.5.7
    RECONSTRUCTING THE RECORD OF NAZI CULTURAL PLUNDER A GUIDE TO THE DISPERSED ARCHIVES OF THE EINSATZSTAB REICHSLEITER ROSENBERG (ERR) AND THE POSTWARD RETRIEVAL OF ERR LOOT Patricia Kennedy Grimsted Revised and Updated Edition Chapter 10: United States of America (March 2015) Published on-line with generous support of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), in association with the International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG), Amsterdam, and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam, at http://www.errproject.org © Copyright 2015, Patricia Kennedy Grimsted The original volume was initially published as: Reconstructing the Record of Nazi Cultural Plunder: A Survey of the Dispersed Archives of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), IISH Research Paper 47, by the International Institute of Social History (IISH), in association with the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam, and with generous support of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), Amsterdam, March 2011 © Patricia Kennedy Grimsted The entire original volume and individual sections are available in a PDF file for free download at: http://socialhistory.org/en/publications/reconstructing-record-nazi-cultural- plunder. Also now available is the updated Introduction: “Alfred Rosenberg and the ERR: The Records of Plunder and the Fate of Its Loot” (last revsied May 2015). Other updated country chapters and a new Israeli chapter will be posted as completed at: http://www.errproject.org. The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), the special operational task force headed by Adolf Hitler’s leading ideologue Alfred Rosenberg, was the major NSDAP agency engaged in looting cultural valuables in Nazi-occupied countries during the Second World War.
    [Show full text]
  • The Monuments Men Monuments Men – Ungewöhnliche Helden
    WETTBEWERB THE MONUMENTS MEN MONUMENTS MEN – UNGEWÖHNLICHE HELDEN George Clooney Nach der Landung US-amerikanischer und britischer Truppen in der USA/Großbritannien/Deutschland 2013 Normandie erlässt Hitler den Befehl, dass dem Feind keine bedeu- 120 Min. · DCP · Farbe tenden Kunstschätze in die Hand fallen dürfen. Was die deutschen Truppen nicht mitnehmen oder in Geheimverstecken unterbringen Regie George Clooney können, soll vernichtet werden. Doch die Alliierten sehen diesem bar- Buch George Clooney, Grant Heslov, nach einem Buch von Robert M. Edsel und barischen Akt nicht tatenlos zu. Sie installieren eine Truppe von „Kunst- Bret Witter schutzoffizieren“, die die Aufgabe erhält, hinter den feindlichen Linien Kamera Phedon Papamichael nach gefährdeten Gemälden und Skulpturen zu fahnden und sie in Sam Jones Foto: Schnitt Stephen Mirrione Sicherheit zu bringen. Angeführt von dem Kunstexperten Frank Sto- Musik Alexandre Desplat Geboren 1961 in Lexington, USA. Seit Mitte kes machen sich Museumsdirektoren, Kuratoren und Historiker auf Tonmischung Edward Tise der Neunzigerjahre einer der gefragtesten den Weg. Dabei haben sie nicht nur gegen Nazi-Offiziere anzutreten, Tonschnitt Oliver Tamey Hollywood-Stars, ist Clooney heute zugleich die sich gern auch privat mit der Kunst schmücken würden, sondern Production Design Jim Bissell Schauspieler, Regisseur und Produzent. 2003 müssen sich auch mit Ignoranz und Arroganz in den eigenen Reihen Kostüm Louise Frogley präsentierte die Berlinale sein Regiedebüt Maske Christine Beveridge CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND. auseinandersetzen. Basierend auf dem Buch von Robert M. Edsel, be- schreibt der Film die gefährlichste Jagd nach Kunstschätzen, die es je in Casting Jina Jay, Simone Bär 2006 Oscar als bester Nebendarsteller für Erste Regieassistenz David Web der Geschichte gab.
    [Show full text]
  • The Art Looting Investigation Unit: Finding Their Place in World War Two History Marykate Farber Union College - Schenectady, NY
    Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 6-2015 The Art Looting Investigation Unit: Finding Their Place in World War Two History MaryKate Farber Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Fine Arts Commons, International Law Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Farber, MaryKate, "The Art Looting Investigation Unit: Finding Their lP ace in World War Two History" (2015). Honors Theses. 298. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/298 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 The Art Looting Investigation Unit: Finding Their Place in World War Two History By MaryKate Farber Senior Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors Department of History Union College June, 2015 2 ABSTRACT Farber, MaryKate The Art Looting Investigation Unit: Finding their place in World War II History This thesis examines the work done by the Art Looting Investigation Unit (ALIU) during World War Two. The ALIU was created as a subdivision of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an American intelligence unit created during the war that was the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. The ALIU men sought to collect and build on information regarding the Nazi “art looting machine”. As such, they bore a strong resemblance to the activities of the Museum and Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) commission (known as the “Monuments Men”).
    [Show full text]
  • In Berlin-Brandenburg
    FILM IN BERLIN-BRANDENBURG Die Tribute von Panem – Mockingjay Teil 1&2 Regie: Francis Lawrence Mit: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Julianne Moore FASZINIERENDE DREHORTE DEUTSCHLANDS & VIELFÄLTIGE STUDIO- FILMSTANDORT #1 KAPAZITÄTEN Berlin-Brandenburg ist der gefragteste Filmstandort in Deutschland. Die Hauptstadtregion verfügt neben einer herausragenden Filmin- Als Heimat des berühmten Studio Babelsberg blickt die Region auf frastruktur über eine Vielzahl an attraktiven Drehplätzen. Darüber eine glorreiche Filmtradition zurück, die dank der hohen Fachkom- hinaus birgt die Region mit den Studios Babelsberg, Adlershof, petenz der Crews vor Ort Filmemacher aus der ganzen Welt anzieht. Berliner Union-Film und vielen anderen immense Studiokapazitäten. Über 300 Filme werden hier jedes Jahr gedreht, darunter auch große Produzenten und Filmemachern aus aller Welt, die in der Region Hollywood-Produktionen und international preisgekrönte Projekte. drehen möchten, bietet die Berlin Brandenburg Film Commission In der Hauptstadtregion gedrehte und produzierte Filme und Serien (BBFC) eine Vielzahl an Serviceleistungen. So hilft die BBFC bei der erfreuen sich zunehmend internationaler Beachtung, und Branchen- Einholung von Drehgenehmigungen und unterhält eine umfang- größen wie Steven Spielberg, Gore Verbinski, Wes Anderson, Claire reiche, ständig aktualisierte Datenbank mit ca. 1.500 Drehorten, die Danes und Jennifer Lawrence drehen hier – und lassen es sich in der nach Motiv durchsucht werden können, sowie ein elektronisches „Capital of Cool“
    [Show full text]
  • Monuments Men
    Monuments Men One of the challenges in writing a weekly history column is constantly coming up with new ideas about old things. Today’s subject was inspired by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles which recently called on its online followers to re-create master artworks using ordinary household items. The internet responded with thousands of home quarantine masterpieces. One of my many artistically talented friends posted her creation on Facebook. It was her version of Leonardo da Vinci’s A Lady with an Ermine. That was all I needed. It sent me searching for an old photograph I recalled seeing of that particular painting being returned to its rightful owner, the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland way back in 1946. And the Easton connection? Frederick Charles Shrady, a world-renowned sculptor and artist who lived in Easton for over thirty years, from 1959 until his death in 1990. Shrady was the first American artist to receive a papal commission for his work. His ten-foot high bronze statue of Our Lady of Fatima has adorned the gardens in the Vatican since 1983. Shrady’s home and studio were originally built by author Edna Ferber and the estate was known as Treasure Hill. During World War II, Shrady was part of the group officially labeled as the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program (MFAA) but known widely as the Monuments Men, an assemblage of 345 men and women representing fourteen different nations that located, identified, and saved some of the greatest artistic masterpieces ever created. Frederick Charles Shrady in his Easton studio at Treasure Hill A Lady with an Ermine is a painting created by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci sometime around 1489 or 1490.
    [Show full text]
  • Stolen! Saving Europe's Treasures
    LESSON PLAN (Image: National Archives and Records Administration, 531272.) STOLEN! SAVING EUROPE’S TREASURES GRADE LEVEL: 7-12 | TIME REQUIREMENT: 1-2 CLASS PERIODS INTRODUCTION + Dwight D. Eisenhower’s order on Historical Monuments, Dec. 29, 1943 [public domain] In the midst of the destruction and chaos of World War II, the greatest + Copies of Student Worksheets for class discussion art theft in history occurred. In what historians have described as an and art analysis attack on culture itself, Nazi forces stole around five million pieces of art throughout the war, roughly 20 percent of all the art in Europe at OBJECTIVES that time. In addition to targeting museums, Nazis regularly pilfered pieces from Jewish families sent to ghettos or concentration camps. Students will analyze primary source documents and Allied knowledge of the theft and destruction of famous artistic pieces engage in image analysis in this exploration of Nazi art brought forth an agreed upon need for a team to seek out and protect theft, the significant work of the Monuments Men, and the these cultural monuments. Authorized in 1943 by President Franklin place of these events in the broader narrative of World Delano Roosevelt, the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) War II. By working with both written and visual sources, added a new dimension to the fighting in Europe, one that sought students will conduct interdisciplinary evaluation to to protect cultural heritage through the preservation of art. Known understand and explain the importance of art, cultural collectively as the “Monuments Men,” the men and women of the identity, and the preservation of historical monuments.
    [Show full text]
  • Amicus Brief, 16-56308
    Docket No. 16-56308 In the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit _________________________________ MAREI VON SAHER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NORTON SIMON MUSEUM OF ART AT PASADENA and NORTON SIMON ART FOUNDATION, Defendants-Appellees. _________________________________ Appeal from a Decision of the U.S. Dist. Court for the Central Dist. of California, No. 07-CV-02866-JFW-JTL • Honorable John F. Walter BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS E. ENGEL AND J. NADLER AND FORMER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS M. LEVINE AND R. WEXLER SUPPORTING REVERSAL OF THE ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT THOMAS R. KLINE L. EDEN BURGESS CULTURAL HERITAGE PARTNERS, PLLC 2101 L Street NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20037 202-567-7594 Telephone 866-875-6492 Facsimile Attorneys for Amici Curiae TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES………………………………………………………ii STATEMENT OF CONSENT………………………………………………..…....1 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP AND FUNDING…………..…………..……..1 STATEMENT OF IDENTITY AND INTEREST……………………………..…..1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT……………………………………………….…...2 ARGUMENT………………………………………………………………………3 I. The Sources Of U.S. Holocaust Restitution Policy………………………....4 II. The District Court Committed Reversible Error In Rejecting U.S. Holocaust Restitution Policy……………………………………………....13 A. U.S. Policy Dictates That Holocaust Restitution Claims Should Be Decided On The Merits……………………….....................13 B. U.S. Policy Also Dictates That Holocaust-Looted Objects Should Be Returned to the Owners By the Countries of Origin......................................................................15 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………...20 STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES…………………………………………..22 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE……………………………………………..23 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE…………………………………………………...24 i TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Am. Ins. Ass'n v. Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396 (2003)………………………………….................................15 Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U.S. 398 (1964)……………………………………………………….15 Cassirer v.
    [Show full text]
  • Raiders of the Lost Art Paper
    Raiders of the Lost Art: The Monuments Men and Their Legacy Julia C. Fischer Introduction In the last several years, the stories of the Monuments Men have become more widely known. Lynn Nicholas’ seminal book on the fate of art in World War II, The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe’s Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War, was made into the highly acclaimed 2008 documentary of the same name.1 In 2010 and 2013, Robert M. Edsel published two books that focused exclusively on the plight and mission of the Monuments Men in Europe: The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History and Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis respectively.2 George Clooney brought the Monuments Men to an even larger audience in 2014 with his Hollywood fictionalization of Edsel’s The Monuments Men, starring Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett. As a result, many are now familiar with the Monuments Men of World War II and their mission to protect sites of cultural importance and to recover and return works of art stolen by Hitler and the Nazis. As this paper will demonstrate, there is much more to the story of the Monuments Men than the recent Hollywood film. This paper will first focus on Adolf Hitler’s relationship with art and his grand designs for a super museum, or the Führermuseum, in his hometown of Linz, Austria. In order to fill the Führermuseum with the greatest artworks in Europe, Hitler quickly realized that he would have to steal from museums, collectors, and dealers.
    [Show full text]